


yours if you want it

by ahausonfire (thisiswherethefishlives)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Miscommunication, These Boys Are Ridiculously Extra, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 15:03:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9907949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiswherethefishlives/pseuds/ahausonfire
Summary: Will fell in love with Derek somewhere between the first time they held hands on the walk back to the haus and the third time that Derek drove off the geese from the river quad. He had yelled his victory to the heavens, and Will’s heart had justclenched. It had felt like a punch to the chest. An itch that couldn’t be scratched. A wrinkle in the fabric of Will’s life that he had no intention of smoothing out.On a fall day, Derek Malik Nurse saved them from the Samwell Geese, and William Poindexter fell in love…





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Inspired by the following Tumblr prompt:**
> 
> enchantingdefendorperson asked: Random prompt if you'd like! Dexnursey where Nursey plans to propose and gets nervous and plans a date and after the main, before dessert he pops the question and Dex gets all flustered (says no ?) cos he was gonna propose w/ the ring in N's dessert

Will fell in love with Derek somewhere between the first time they held hands on the walk back to the haus and the third time that Derek drove off the geese from the river quad. He had yelled his victory to the heavens, and Will’s heart had just _clenched_. It had felt like a punch to the chest. An itch that couldn’t be scratched. A wrinkle in the fabric of Will’s life that he had no intention of smoothing out.

On a fall day, Derek Malik Nurse saved them from the Samwell Geese, and William Poindexter fell in love…

Which is why, years later, surrounded by strangers in the nicest restaurant he’s ever been in, Will says no when Derek proposes.

And-

Jesus _Fuck_ , he’s fucked it up. Derek looks confused before he looks hurt, and it’s just-

It’s not okay, because Will can see Derek shift his emotions into something closer to the chill he had insisted on for years. It’s not okay. None of this is right, and Will had a _plan_. He’s had a fucking plan since the beginning of their junior year when those geese had scattered, and this-

This _isn’t_ okay.

Derek’s not quite looking at him anymore, and… everything is _fucked_. The risotto they had shared is sitting like lead in Will’s stomach, the waiter than had been so cordial only moments before is now giving him the stinkeye of the century, and this isn’t the kind of thing that Will can leave for later.

“ _Babe…_ ”

There are tears in Derek’s eyes now, and Will is officially the worst person in the world, because even though Derek’s clearly been hurt… even though Will’s obviously fucked everything up in the worst of ways… despite everything, Derek’s just _looking_ at him. He’s not screaming, and he’s not leaving, and he’s not doing any of the things that a person probably should do when turned down in public…

“I need you to do something for me, and I know- I _know_ that I fucked up just now, but I need you to just-” it’s awkward suddenly to make his limbs work, fingers clumsy as he maneuvers his hand toward the pocket of his fitted jacket (expensive and uncomfortable, but with pockets, _so_ -), but he manages to get a hold of the plastic wrapper despite himself (it’s loud- loud as the plastic crinkles between his fingers- loud, even against the bustle of the restaurant around them). He takes a deep breath and places the packet on the table before continuing. “Please, just… I need you to imagine that we finished dinner and that it was my turn to treat you. I was going to drive you back to Samwell, and I was going to take you on a walk around the river quad. There are less geese at this time of year, but I thought it would still be nice… and I was going to hand you this fortune cookie for dessert, and I was going to ride it out.”

Derek reaches out, as if to take the cookie from where it’s been placed between them, before pausing- as if it weren’t for him- as if _everything_ that Will’s ever worked towards wasn’t for him- for _them_.

“Take it. Please, it’s yours if you want it.”

The ‘ _if you still want me_ ’ isn’t verbalized, but it’s there. It’s unsaid and it’s tender and it’s frightening, because their relationship isn’t something Will wants to fuck up. Not over this. Not over a fucking cookie and a walk across campus and a plan. The realization that he could have ruined everything has Will training his eyes away from the other side of the table, but his ears still work.

There’s crinkling across the table as Derek tears open the wrapper, and there’s a crack as he breaks into the cookie, and there’s a snort (loud and completely inappropriate for the ambiance of their surroundings) before everything focuses down into a single, weighted moment. As if feeling the change in the atmosphere (as if it were a physical change and not just an altered cadence to the beating of Will’s heart) Derek leans close enough so that only Will can hear his whisper.

“Oh my god Poindexter, you’re such a nerd.”

It’s not a yes so much as an understanding - silent and easy - _god,_ it’s easy. Just a matter of swapping ring boxes, fumbling fingers tangling together across a starched linen tablecloth, and it’s okay.

It’s missing the romance of a moonlit walk, and it doesn’t quite embody the planned elegance that Derek was going for… but there’s a smile on Derek’s lips again, and really… as far as proposals go… it could have been worse.

 


End file.
